The Best Three-Cheese Lasagna Recipe

Can you believe that we are only 19 days away from Christmas? Since we are all busy preparing for the holidays, I will be writing shorter posts for the next two weeks and sharing some recipes that are great for entertaining during this busy time of year.

Lasagna is one of my favorite dishes to prepare during the holidays. A beautiful pan of piping hot and cheesy lasagna is perfect when entertaining a large group of people. Make it ahead, bake it and add a salad, a loaf of Italian bread and dessert and you have an incredibly satisfying meal. Don’t forget to add a nice bottle of red wine! 😉

This recipe is my favorite after trying countless recipes over the years. You will need an extra deep dish lasagna pan for this version (9 X 13 x 3). I use this one by Mario Batali. It is made of porcelain enamel over cast iron, so it is a heavy little buggar (especially when loaded up with the lasagna!). However, it cooks very evenly, which is important with a deep dish lasagna.

Lots of cheesy goodness!

There are many flavors layered in this lasagna and that is what I like so much about it. Be sure to use crushed tomatoes in puree that are more like a thick tomato sauce and not the ones that are just finely chopped. Progresso is one brand that I suggest. You want a rich and thick tomato sauce that adds a wonderful flavor to the dish.

There is very little meat in this recipe, so it is easily adaptable to be a vegetarian lasagna, if that is what you prefer.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees or 325 for convection bake (I prefer convection bake for this lasagna). Cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until almost tender, about 7 minutes. Drain; cover with cold water.

2. Combine ricotta and 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese in medium bowl. Mix in spinach. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in eggs.

About the Author

Gwen Pratesi

Gwen Pratesi is a James Beard Foundation Award Finalist in Journalism and an award-winning travel writer. She is the author and owner of PratesiLiving.com with her husband, coauthor of Southern Heat, and co-owner of On the Road Culinary Adventures, a culinary travel business. She is a bimonthly travel contributor to U.S. News & World Report, a travel expert for SheKnows.com, and freelances for other publications. Her work has also been featured on MSN, Yahoo!, Business Insider, and in Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Magazine.
She has also been a speaker at several food and writing conferences in the Southeast. Gwen chronicles her love of international travel and experience as a professional home cook on PratesiLiving.com, where she shares the stories of some of the world's most sought after destinations, highly regarded chefs, restaurateurs, farmers, wine and spirits producers, and culinary artisans.
She and her husband reside in Atlanta, Georgia.

Hi Rachel,

Be sure to use this size pan (deep dish). It will definitely not fit in a regular pan. Enjoy!

Gwen

Looks so inviting – there’s nothing more satisfying than a huge pan of cheesy lasagna. I’ve got lasagna on the brain after last night’s Lasagna Throwdown with a group of fellow foodies – still stuffed 🙂 Happy Holidays, Gwen!

When it comes to lasagne, I also prefer drinking straight from the bottle 😉
Kidding. Incredible photo – I’m totally drooling and it’s only 11:00 a.m. here. Hope the pup is feeling better.

I love lasagna but I make it sauceless for me and totally saucy for hubs. My favorite part is all of the leftovers! Your post reminded me that I need a more traditional lasagna dish – I only have oval ones!

Lasagne I am looking for a different variation of lasagne and would definitely try this. Yes holiday is in the air.

Mmmm I want to come for a lasagna holiday meal at your house! Delicious and boy it looks rich and decadent but somehow not too over the top! Perfect! A lasagna meal as you describe it really is the perfect meal – for company, for winter, for really anytime!

Well… now I want a deep dish 9×19 enamel pan for Christmas!!! If for nothing else so I can make this dish. 🙂

Looks wonderful, Gwen!

[K]

Great looking lasagna. There are some awesome flavors in that sauce.

Very close to the lasagna I have made for the last 25 years, although you don’t need the carrots, that will just make the sauce too sweet, and then you add brown sugar, sorry too sweet for my taste. I inherited my recipe from my Italian grandmother, and I have served it to friends and family over the years. The sauce should be cooked at least 3 hours, longer is better, and if you purchase sweet Italian sausage, thats all you need as far as sweetness. One more thing…you don’t need a heavy expensive specialty pan to make this in, you can get away with one of those foil deep dish lasagna pans that they sell in any grocery store. Just make sure you use a cookie sheet under it to support the weight!

Hi Monica,

Yes, this sauce has just a bit of sweetness, but it is not noticeable in the lasagna since there is so much cheese. You can certainly cook the sauce longer and I would if I were using it for something other than lasagna. It does “cook” again in the baking process, so it has a very nice flavor in the finished dish.

You can certainly use an aluminum pan, however, I make this often and like having the enamel coasted cast iron pan to serve to guests. I also think that is does make a difference in how the lasagna cooks through so evenly.

Gwen

We always eat lasagna at my in-laws. Such a great Christmas tradition for us. I can see why this is a favorite. You can’t go wrong with all that cheese, can you? I hope you are doing well and enjoying the bustle. I am!